The present invention concerns a new use of a material in an application where the material has heretofore been considered entirely inappropriate.
Aliphatically bound halogen is known to be relatively reactive with many metals, particularly active metals such as aluminum. The reactivity of certain halides such as carbon tetrachloride and methyl chloroform with aluminum and aluminum alloys is well known and has been responsible for a great deal of work in the field of solvent stabilization. Activated halides such as allyl chloride, benzyl chloride, and substituted benzyl halides are generally known to be particularly reactive, and such halides are customarily handled in special containers or apparatus constructed of resin-lined metal, glass, ceramic materials, nickel, titanium or tantalum. Such halides have been considered essentially equivalent in reactivity so that a particular material of construction has been assumed to be suitable or unsuitable for contact with all members of the class depending upon its behavior with respect to one or two members. For example, benzyl chloride is known to react vigorously with an aluminum surface and the presumption has been that substituted benzyl chlorides behave in the same way.